Related Playgrounds

Overview

Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Elementary
is an Eco-Certified School in Burlington, ON and part of the Halton Catholic
School Board. In an effort to create a play space that aligned more closely
with their values and approach to education, the school focused on developing a
more nature-based play space. The goal was to create a space that allowed them
to provide a wider range of play opportunities and sensory experiences and to
create a space that would allow them to extend the classroom outdoors

During the process of envisioning the new
play space, there were a few major challenges/issues that needed to be
addressed: current play opportunities were severely limited for children with
accessibility challenges, abundance of paved surfacing, and protecting the
existing trees on site appropriately while incorporating them into the design.

To address the lack of limited play
opportunities and accessibility the design comprises separate spaces or
"pods" dedicated to outdoor curriculum, dramatic/imaginative play,
sand & water / fine-motor-skills and gross-motor play. Care was taken to
arrange these pods for seamless flow of play from one activity to the next.

To address the abundance of paved
surfacing, we cut a significant portion of the existing asphalt and expanded
the fence line. The result was a more sensible circulation path and almost
double the amount of lush green space. Additionally, we increased the amount of
topography by manipulating the grade and adding a variety of plant material
while protecting the existing trees on site. Not only did this increase
children’s opportunities to engage with natural elements, but it created
visually defined spaces with various behavior settings, ultimately improving
the functionality of the space for children and educators.

Get in touch with us

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